In today’s technology-driven world, organizations frequently upgrade their IT infrastructure, leading to the inevitable disposal of outdated or unused equipment. This process is known as IT Asset Disposition (ITAD). ITAD involves the secure and environmentally responsible disposal of IT assets, ensuring that sensitive data is destroyed and that materials are recycled or disposed of according to regulatory standards.

Throwing a community recycling collection day is a great way to encourage those around you to reduce the amount of salvageable scrap that gets thrown into landfills–especially when it comes to clunky pieces of technology that take effort to dispose of properly. 

You can make your community feel good about retiring old IT equipment–as well as make it easy for them–by partnering with Arrow to throw an E-waste recycling event.

For years, our economy worked in a linear way. Simply put, good were produced, sold, used and eventually discarded, typically ending up in a landfill.

But as demand has grown along with our reliance on plastics, metals and other materials that don’t easily degrade, landfills, well…became filled. And waste materials made their way into the ocean and created other environmental hazards. We are a consumer culture that buys more clothes and wears them for shorter and shorter durations and buy more and more appliances and technology that lasts or remains relevant for less and less time.

The holiday season is exciting . For many consumers, whether it’s a new TV, a new mobile phone or a cool new toy for the parents or the kids, there’s no better time of the year. But in with the new too often means out to the garbage – and not to recycling – with the old. We are often tempted to put that old tv on the curb when we get the shiny, new big one but that comes with its problems. For one, when e-waste is disposed of and not recycled, many of these chemical-laden or mercury and lead-containing products end up in landfills where they can do harm to both the local residents and wildlife. In the instance its burned, harmful chemicals can leech out into the air.

Whether through planned obsolescence or the desire for better, faster technology, e-waste has become a real issue. In fact, the average consumer disposes of nearly 50lbs of e-waste per year. 50 lbs! And while the vast majority of waste in landfills is not e-waste – in fact, it’s less than 4% - its among the most harmful. The chemicals inherent to building computers, cell phones and other devices mix with the earth, water and the air to produce effects that can be harmful to both people and wildlife. And though they aren’t as prevalent as they used to be, there are also tax benefits available to those that make the effort to recycle e-waste.

You spend on devices. You spend on hardware and software updates and upgrades. But how are you protecting your investment? ITAD (Information Technology Asset Disposition) is an important and sometimes overlooked means of ensuring that you have the means to recycle, refurbish and dispose of your old technology securely while maintaining your data security. And here’s a little more about why it’s so critical.

Technology has allowed many companies to work in the current COVID-19 climate while keeping their employees and families safe at home. Remote working is a flexible solution for many organizations because it allows employees to be online and in-network while they do not need to commute or expose themselves unnecessarily to others, however remote working does raise some questions about how a company’s IT Asset Disposition plan should work.